Foreign formats increasingly attractive to US

The international TV business didn’t fall off a cliff at Cannes’ 46th Mip TV mart.

But recession lashed the event, which closed April 3, sparking a variety of reactions: cost-containment, buyer caution — and a bunch of acquisitions of international formats for potential Stateside remakes.

Little surprise there, as the number of participants for the five-day mart was down 14% from 2008 to 11,500.

Trading, inevitably, was cautious.

The two factors causing problems for free-to-air broadcasters are a stronger dollar and sliding ad revenues, per Marion Edwards, prexy of international distribution for Twentieth Century Fox TV Distribution.

Emmanuelle Boulihaguet, Marathon Intl. managing director, says she sometimes had to lower prices to make sales. And Fernando Perez Gavillan, VP of Televisa Intl., reckons some clients will probably have problems paying on time.

But all signs are that producers will have to think creatively about how to make cheaper content that still returns strong ratings.

As Mip TV underscored, foreign formats are increasingly attractive to the U.S. TV biz.

Lionsgate TV bought Italian gamer “Parenti talenti” for a U.S. redo, co-produced with Mark Burnett; Scandinavia’s Nordisk sold multiple formats for American adaptation, including “Don’t Date Him Girl” to Reveille.

Adds Jan Mojto, CEO of Germany’s Beta Film: “One feature of Mip is a sudden mental readiness of American network executives to look at non-American product. Two years ago, there was nobody to talk to.”

The recession, coming on top of last year’s WGA strike, has opened up TV horizons. In that, at least, the TV business may never be quite the same.